The City of Prescott, Arizona, held its 23rd annual event mostly at the Hassayampa Inn, an historic hotel near the Old Square in the heart of the city. After a Meet & Greet cocktail hour, the first evening had a concert at the Elks Opera House Theater across the street from the Hassayampa. The Elks Theater is a beautifully restored, acoustically dynamic “opera” style building with balcony and box seating available. It is a beautiful venue. There is a large room on the 3rd level used for lectures, gatherings, weddings, events, etc. The Performing Arts Center is actively utilized by the community and is a local treasure.
More than twenty musicians gathered on the stage to celebrate The Blues and its beginnings in the jazz genre. They were just warming up for a terrific weekend of musical adventures. Master of Ceremonies, Pete Barbutti, had just reached his 90th birthday and has been entertaining audiences for over 78 years, with over 1,000 appearances on national television and 90 times on The Tonight Show—he has lots of stories to tell!
The musicians appearing included:
Trumpet – Mike Vax, Director of the Jazz Summit; Louise Baranger, Dave Coolidge, Bruce Gates, Dominic Derasse, Mike Gurciullo
Trombone – Rob Boone, Brian Zabriskie, Art Swanson, Calvin Audis
Saxophone – Dave Schmidt, Gary Anderson, Tony Vacca, Dave Russell, Paul Brewer
Piano – Beth Lederman
Bass – Selwyn Reams, Chris Finet
Drums – Kenny French, Van Katz
Guitar – Howard Alden, Rick Schmidt (also on a pedal steel)
Vocals – Ronnie Rose, Mike Gurciullo
Tony Vacca noted that the same chord progressions occur in three different tunes – “Oleo” (a Sonny Rollins number); “I Got Rhythm” (Gershwin), and, of all things, The Flintstones theme song!
What an assortment! He then proceeded to demonstrate the similarities and variations with the band members on stage.
The following afternoon, many of the musicians went over to the Prescott High School to involve the students in several masterclasses to prepare for their evening performances. Calvin Audis is the Band Director at the school and directs the concert band, marching band, jazz band, and orchestra. The students from both the Prescott High School and the Yavapai College started the evening with their own rehearsed numbers and that was followed by the Summit musicians intermingling with their chosen instruments. Vocalist Ronnie Rose brought everyone to their feet with Louis Prima’s “Jump, Jive & Wail”—it was fun to see the students dancing off to the side and thoroughly enjoying the music!
The Sunday morning brunch back at the Hassayampa is a nice intimate gathering and all the musicians take turns with basically a five to seven piece ensemble for about a half hour each. Mike “Gooch” Gurciullo on vocals and trumpet together with Ronnie Rose presented a Vegas-style rendition of popular tunes and accompanied one of the sets.
Howard Alden and Rick Schmidt did several duets with both guitar styles and it was beautiful! Louise Baranger is a fine trumpeter and I always enjoy her selections. With Dave Russell on sax or flute and Gary Anderson on a baritone sax, the tunes could not have been more represented. Drummers Kenny French and Van Katz took turns providing the beat. Bassists Selwyn Reams and Chris Finet kept the rhythm section on track. Trombonist Rob Boone is a member of Tucson’s Wildcat Jazz Band and always delivers more than expected.
Beth Lederman was the only pianist and played most of the sets, she was definitely the MVP of the weekend!
Parisian-born Dominic Derasse related a story of how he met Mike Vax in France many, many years ago. He invited Mike to his home for a quick lunch and a chance to “talk trumpet.” Now, after studying and performing all over the world, Dominic lives in Kingman, Arizona!! He performed an original piece with Mike—“The Golden Princess”—and it was very moving and emotionally beautiful.
The afternoon session is held in the same room a few hours later and is very relaxing after a nourishing meal and light conversation among the attendees.
When the Summit is “officially over” there is still the Jam Session at a local iconic restaurant, Murphy’s, a few blocks down the street. Murphy’s provides the musicians with their evening meal and a few libations prior to the evening Jam Session. The musicians always look forward to this final event and the last chance to make music together before heading back home.
I do prefer the more intimate settings such as these compared to a thousand or more people in a large venue where the musicians on stage are often augmented with side monitors for viewing. I always want to be within 10 feet of them…I would sit on the stage if they let me!
To quote Cathalena Burch, senior reporter and music critic for The Arizona Daily Star after her review of a string quartet:
“It’s an intimate space, but those are the best concerts: the ones where you can hear the scratch from the musician stroking the strings with the bow and see the expressions on their faces as they look to one another for timing or some other nuance that lets you inside their heads and the music.”
The following week we flew to Sacramento, California for the 9th Annual Hot Jazz Jubilee Celebration and catching up with old friends! That festival will be the highlight of my column next month.
